Diaz and Mayors Call for Stronger Gun Control in Wake of Shootings

The number of horrible mass shootings nationally in the past few weeks has been astoundingly sad. Incidents in Miami alone have taken the lives of a dozen people in the past few weeks. I don't know if you can explain something like this. Blaming it on the economy, as it appears some might want to do, just seems vapid. We blame everything on the economy nowadays.

There is one way to link all of these events, though: They involve guns. In his role as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz reinforced his gun control policy today in a statement. Diaz lays out a six-point plan of action:

A strengthened, effective ban on military-style assault weapons, such as AK-47s, and their component parts must be reinstated.

Common-sense gun legislation, such as that advocated by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, should be enacted. Such legislation should close the gun show loophole, keep guns out of the hands of terrorists, and no longer permit gun dealers with revoked licenses to sell firearms.

Legislation should be enacted that would limit the number of guns a person may purchase in a single transaction or in a month or other specified period of time.

Law enforcement agencies' access to gun trace data should not be limited by state or federal law -- for example, by any version of the so-called Tiahrt Amendment.

Anyone purchasing a firearm in the United States should be required to go through a background check. Full funding should be provided for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), and states should be required to submit records, including those involving persons with serious mental health problems, to the NICS.

The Integrated Ballistics Identification System (IBIS) should be expanded to include ballistics images for all new guns, not just those involved in crimes. The federal government should support the development of new technologies, such as micro-stamping, which can help solve crimes.